Lean in to each other

It's been nice to see a lot of the peripheral stuff fall away. We are in troubling times for sure, let's just state the obvious. With that I am seeing encouraging things happen all around us.  I am seeing less political arguing and more things getting accomplished. Just a month ago there was no way in hell one party was going to talk to the other on a federal level.....now, they are getting things done. In the business world we are seeing businesses large and small come together to serve consumers at all levels......just a few weeks ago it was all about competition and profits. Communities are rallying together to help each other survive the unknowns that lie ahead.

At all levels we are leaning in to each other. As we continue this time period continue to lean in to each other. Find ways to support each other through being supportive. I had a college professor say in a class "don't give advice". At first hearing I was taken aback. Don't give advice I thought? How can you say that, we all give advice. He explained further. What he meant is this....Many times people don't need our advice. They don't need us to tell them how we think they should do things or get through hard times. What they really need from us is to listen. To be supportive ear in a tough time. Try it in your next interaction. If you must say something, say something supportive.

This can be especially helpful in our use of social media. We can be quick to make a comment telling someone what we think they should be doing in our current scenario. But really, unless they are asking you for your feedback is what you are about to say needed? Try pausing before typing and ask yourself if what you are about to say will be truly helpful or more harmful. Unsolicited advice can be more harmful than good.

Practice listening.....truly listening. This can be done through technology. Try to imagine yourself in their scenario.  Before typing a comment ask yourself what they might be going through. Try to think of all the different pieces of context that might going into what they posted that you don't see in just words on a screen. The reality is we are just reading words on a screen,  and we are missing a lot of information. Try to pause before typing, and if in doubt, don't comment at all.

Be that one person to truly be present for someone. These are troubling times. We all are processing this rapidly changing scenario in our own ways. You can be the one person who doesn't judge, give advice, or criticize.  Be the one person that supports someone through being there for them to vent. Practice listening with no purpose other than to be a sounding board. Be that one person in someones life they can count on to process all that is happening around them.

Lean in when a large part of you might want to isolate. Even with all of the barriers keeping us from physically being in places and with people we normally have as part of our lives, we can stay connected. This is the best time to use technology to our advantage.  Social media, text, calls, facetime, and more.....all are great ways to keep in touch with each other. 

Comments

Popular Posts